Intersil makes datasheet download even more annoying

[FrankBuss]

Some companies requires you to create an account on their websites to download a datasheet, which is annoying, but at least you can see the datasheet immediately after registering. Looks like Intersil doesn't want to sell parts, because after the required registering, when I click "Request Full Datasheet", this message appears:

No response so far from the Product Line Marketing manager (I love marketing). I understand it for very modern or special parts which require a NDA, but a simple 5 dollar video ADC? Thank you very much, I'll take a look at the same TI or Analog Devices parts.

[daqq]

Maxim has a few parts like that... never understood that logic. Seems idiotic.

[amyk]

They like to pretend their ICs have super-secret technology or something, maybe it makes the manager-types happy...

Apparently the TW9960 is pin-compatible with the DM5960, whose full datasheet can be easily found.

[nfmax]

It probably means the part (or some technology within it) falls under the remit of export control legislation. Of course they can't tell you what. Nothing either you or they can do about it. 

[FrankBuss]

Apparently the TW9960 is pin-compatible with the DM5960, whose full datasheet can be easily found.

Thanks, that looks really like the same chip, even the specs are the same like 10 bit ADC etc. But can't find it anywhere to buy, octopart.com has no result.

But I found a good chip which will be sufficient for my project, the TVP5150. The only drawback is that it has only a 9 bit ADC, but I only need it for vsync/hsync/pixel clock generation anyway. I'm planning to build a video overlay with a FPGA. Maybe later I'll do some processing on the image data in the FPGA, so the ADC is useful.

[vodka]

Maxim has a few parts like that... never understood that logic. Seems idiotic.

I believe that they do it for filling  full the spam ours email

[FrankBuss]

Maxim has a few parts like that... never understood that logic. Seems idiotic.

I believe that they do it for filling  full the spam ours email

You mean spam for the marketing manager  ? Just for collecting eMail addresses, a registration would be sufficient, no need to send a request for each datasheet download.

[bitslice]

If I had to go through that, I'd make sure to upload the datasheet to somewhere that google search would index it.

[Ampera]

If I had to go through that, I'd make sure to upload the datasheet to somewhere that google search would index it.

Behind a good VPN and TOR network, yes I would too.

[Halcyon]

If I had to go through that, I'd make sure to upload the datasheet to somewhere that google search would index it.

Behind a good VPN and TOR network, yes I would too.

Provided they don't add metadata or a watermark to each document so they can see which user/e-mail/etc... it originated from. I suppose it's easy enough to fake that registration information but still, I wouldn't put it past some companies.

[timb]

Some specialty IC product lines live on very thin margin, so probably they do not want their competitors to know their IC's design block and data sheet, so they competitors cannot estimate die size and IP used, which are also related to silicon cost.
In this case, a pin-to-pin compatible device is there, so this decision makes no sense. But for some very cheap and high volume products this makes sense.

It really doesn't though. A competitor could easily setup a fake company, complete with website, then just fill out the form and wait for the datasheet.

[FrankBuss]

Btw, still no reply at all from the Intersil Product Line Marketing manager, not saying I don't get the datasheet or sending me the datasheet. Maybe he/she is swamped by datasheet request approvals and all day clicking "yes"  and "no" ? But no problem, meanwhile I've designed my circuit with the TVP5150 from TI and ordered it from Digikey.